"We will be honoring Horace Mann, the father of public education in America, with the unveiling of a statue at Horace Mann Square. Mann was born in Franklin on May 4, 1796, less than 20 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed and while George Washington was still President.
In 1837, Mann left the practice of law and withdrew from the presidency of the Massachusetts State Senate to become the first Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education. He traveled among the people urging them to make their schools better—to improve school buildings, to provide better books and equipment, to enrich the course of study, and above all to provide better teachers. Year after year, Horace Mann carried on his mission, and today, his name is held in grateful remembrance everywhere the common school opens doors of opportunity.
He declared, “Without undervaluing any other human agency, it may be safely affirmed that the Common School... may become the most effective and benignant of all forces of civilization.”
The unveiling of the statue in his birthplace is a tribute to his work and to those whose great efforts mark the progress of education in the United States and the advancement of these ideals. The statue also stands as a monument to a fight that has been handed down to us— that we must strive unceasingly for better schools. Well-educated, clear-thinking, creative citizens are essential to democracy and our democratic way of life.
The memorial was made possible by funding from the Massachusetts General Court and the Austin B. Fletcher Memorial Fund approved by the Town Council of Franklin, Massachusetts. Both bodies unanimously approved the project of honoring the memory of so illustrious a son of Franklin, and took the necessary steps to make it happen. The square which houses the statue and memorial was generously donated and constructed by Roger Calarese, the developer of Horace Mann Square."
Shared from the Facebook event create by Representative Jeff Roy
https://www.facebook.com/events/1102040296567751/
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| Upi are invited to the Horace Mann Statue Unveiling at Horace Mann Square - May 7 |
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| The statue base is ready |
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| The statue base is ready in the rain |
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